In Which Sophie Learns of St Patrick's Day
by soaringXspirit
Summary: Sophie is unaware of the customs of Howl's world. But that's going to change! Howl and Sophie. Based off the book, but with some references to the movie as well. Enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

In Which Sophie Learns of St. Patrick's Day

**A/N: so I'm doing some mental spring cleaning…i.e. getting rid of these plot bunnies that have been bouncing around in my brain. So here's one of them! I did start this on St. Pattie's day, I swear, I just haven't gotten around to writing it till now.**

Sophie sat sipping her tea. She had positioned one of the kitchen chairs next to the fire place so that she could enjoy Calcifer's company on the chilly March mornings. Michael was still in his room, but Sophie could hear him scuffling about, probably getting dressed. And not too long ago Howl had called downstairs to order Calcifer to start the hot water. Yes, Calcifer was free to do as he pleased now that the curse was lifted, but that didn't stop Howl from ordering the poor fire demon around whenever he dropped by.

Sophie had gotten all the ingredients ready for breakfast, but she didn't want to prepare it too early for fear that it would get cold by the time Howl came down from his bath. Sophie couldn't help but give a content sigh and a small smile. It seemed like it would be just another day in the wizard's moving castle.

About an hour later, breakfast was close to being ready, Calcifer was munching on a log and Michael had his nose in a book of spells. Sophie glided between the drawers and the table, holding a mix-match of plates, spoons, forks, and knives. The only thing that was missing was the wizard himself; a tall, black-haired man of some age around 28 with ocean blue eyes and a charming smile.

Upstairs, the door to the bathroom flew open, a cloud of steam bursting into the hall. Sophie's nose was prepared for Howl's usual flowery scent to fill the castle and tingle her nose. But it was different today; it smelled kind of like shamrocks and…fresh dew? Sophie found this very odd, but she found the wizard's apparel even odder. He had donned a luscious green button-up shirt and those peculiar pants made of dark blue fabric. Sophie remembered that they were called jeans. _Yes, the ones that shrink in the wash, _she said to herself. Her gaze wandered back up to his shirt, and she noticed that he had left three buttons undone, revealing part of his chiseled chest. Sophie's cheeks threatened to turn a little rosy, but she willed herself to channel all of her attention to the bacon and eggs.

"Good morning, everyone! Isn't this a fine day today?"

"You seem to be in a good mood this morning, Master Howl," Michael piped up.

"Don't expect it to last," murmured Calcifer. Sophie simply shuffled back and forth, dishing out breakfasts for the wizard, the apprentice, and herself.

"This looks delicious, Sophie dear," said Howl as he slyly coiled his arm around her dainty waist, stopping her from serving Michael his food.

"But there's something missing," mused Howl. Without letting go of Sophie he gathered all the plates together on the table and took a small vile out of the back pocket of his jeans. He poured it onto the eggs and…they turned green! Sophie was utterly confused. Did Howl just poison their food? No, that didn't make sense. She turned her head and looked directly at the green fabric of Howl's shirt. She became intoxicated by the smell of shamrocks. _And shamrocks are green too_, she thought.

"Howl, since when has your favorite color been green?" she asked innocently, with a hint of confusion clouding her eyes.

Howl simply chuckled in reply and kissed the top of her head. After all, he was feeling lucky today.

**A/N: this was originally going to be a one-shot, but it's gonna be a wee bit longer than that. This is based off the book, but I do make some references to the movie XD**

**Oh, and yes, I was inspired by Dr. Seuss's "green eggs and ham" in the middle of this one, if you couldn't tell. **


	2. Chapter 2

"Oh, Sophie dear, I really need to take you to Wales more often," Howl stated. He watched in amusement as Sophie furrowed her brow, more confused than before. In her mind, she had sort of put two-and-two together, but it still didn't make sense.

"Howl, does all this green have something to do with a custom back in your world?" she asked. He mhm'ed in response which irritated Sophie slightly. All the while Michael had taken back his breakfast and was happily chewing his bacon, and Calcifer occupied himself by humming his little tune. They had lived with Howl longer than Sophie, and they were aware of some of the holidays of his old home.

Sophie gave up trying to figure it out for herself and decided to eat her breakfast before it froze. Howl followed suit. Eventually, he broke the silence after swallowing his last green egg.

"Now, we need to get you more suitable clothes. You have that mousy green dress, but it's far too modest. You certainly look Irish with those gold-red locks of yours, even though we'll be going to Wales. Ah well, Ireland, Wales, what's the difference?" Howl rambled as he stood up, observing Sophie's body and figuring how to dress her. (Or firstly, UNdress her. Naughty, naughty Howl!) Slowly his eyes settled into hers, and he couldn't be happier to gaze into her doe-like eyes.

"We're going to Wales?" Sophie asked, still slightly confused. She had been planning on working in the flower shop, and she wanted to get the laundry done. She decided to voice her protests.

"And what of the flower shop? Michael worked it all by his own yesterday because I was cleaning the bathroom. It would be unfair for him to work it by himself for a second day in a row. And the laundry? We need fresh clothes, Howl. I should think that you of all people would appreciate that."

Howl sighed, Calcifer suppressed a chuckle, and Michael dug further into his book, hoping to avoid an argument. But Michael still listened attentively to Sophie, and he offered his two cents to the dilemma.

"Sophie, I don't mind running the flower by myself. I actually like it. I'll go pick some flowers now; it's still early in the morning, right? The shop won't open for another hour or two." But Sophie wasn't satisfied with this answer. As always, she objected.

"And your studies? You're a wizard's apprentice, Michael, not a  
shop boy." Howl smiled, thinking of how much she sounded like a mother.

"I can study when there are no customers around, I'll bring a few books in with me. I promise that nothing will explode, wilt, die, catch on fire, drown, or anything!" The young apprentice was practically pleading. Sophie's hands relaxed down from her hips and she let out a sharp sigh. Her stubborn personality did not enjoy admitting defeat. Howl smiled triumphantly.

"Well it's settled then. Michael, start picking some fresh flowers from the field, and Sophie, come with me," Howl directed as he grabbed Sophie's hand and led her upstairs towards his room.

"Why does everyone always forget about me?" Calcifer said to himself as he reached for another log and nestled down to take a nap.

**A/N: Tada! I somewhat-but-not-really-proudly present the second part of my silly little howlXsophie story. I typed this up in a huge rush during the last half of chem class after finishing a test, so I'm sorry if it sucks!**


	3. Chapter 3

Part 3

They whizzed into the wizard's bedroom and once Howl let go of Sophie's hand he zipped around the room, opening and closing drawers in a flash. Sophie paid him no heed. Instead, she stood in the middle of the magic-infested room and tried to absorb the spectacle around her. Yes, she had been in Howl's room before, but there was always something new to spot every time. As usual, there were cob webs in the corners and quite a bit of dust gathering on the shelves. The shelves contained a collection of gigantic books, many of which had stray pieces of paper poking out of them. A huge bed with a motley crew of quilts occupied one side of the room and next to it was a desk with a stack of scrolls a mile high, making the pen and ink pot next to them look like they belonged to a doll set. Beakers of various shapes and sizes containing different potions were scattered about, sometimes catching the light coming in from the window.

That window. It was a peculiar thing to say the least. Sophie knew that it looked out onto the backyard of Howl's sister's house in Wales (wherever Wales may be), but even after being around Howl and magic for so long, the window still irked her. It felt odd to be able to watch them without their knowledge; to be able to watch as they go about their lives without them being able to look up at you through the window.

Howl had kept his eye on Sophie while he worked. She seemed to accept the mess, but he was certain that there was a glint of hatred in her eyes when she saw the cob webs. Before Sophie could really notice anything, Howl was in front of her with a stack of green fabric dangling from his left arm. Where had all of this come from?

"Now, you're obviously going to want a dress. Ankles won't do. Calves…still too modest. Yes, yes, that should do nicely," he muttered to himself as he began flipping through the fabrics and tossing the unwanted ones on the floor. Sophie made a mental note to herself to make him clean them up later. Eventually he produced a pine green fabric and gave a little "Aha!" This was the fabric.

"Well don't just stand there Sophie. Turn," he commanded as he started sprinkling this and that onto the fabric and running his fingers over it where he wanted to cut it. Sophie was baffled at first, but she eventually began turning around.

"Howl, you better not be enchanting that dress," she said warningly.

"Oh, come now, Sophie. Do you really not trust me?" he said with the most innocent look on his face.

"I know where your secret stash of all your favorite suits are, Howl. Don't make me go get my scissors." Howl gasped, and then chuckled a bit. She was all too cute when she was ticked off.

"Don't worry, dear. I'm only enhancing the life of the dress, nothing more." Sophie was still a little suspicious of the wizard's intentions, but she allowed this one to slide. She wasn't in much of a mood to argue right now.

"There, it's perfect," he said with a triumphant smile on his face. "Here, go try it on." He handed her the newly-made dress.

"This…is a dress?" She was a little shocked. It was much shorter than her other dresses; it would probably only go down to her knees, maybe even a bit above them. And there were no sleeves, only two straps each about two inches thick.

"Go try it on, dear. Don't make me force it on you," Howl said with a devious smile. She gave a little "hmph" and marched out of his room and into hers. She returned about a minute later wearing the dress. It was obvious that she was embarrassed; she wouldn't look Howl in the eyes and holding her hands together in front of her body.

"H-Howl, a-are these types of clothes acceptable in Wales?" He smiled a bit and nodded.

"Look," he said, directing her towards his window. Through the window Sophie could see Howl's older sister, Megan, in her backyard. Megan was wearing jeans, just like Howl was, and a green sweater. And then there was little Mari, who's outfit was rather similar to Sophie's except she was wearing a green skirt that went to the middle of her thighs and a white t-shirt.

"Oh," said Sophie.

"Come here, I'm still not done with the dress," Howl stated. In his hands was another piece of fabric. It was a lighter shade of green, and it was wide and long. Sophie walked over to the wizard and he stepped behind her, wrapping the light green fabric around her waist and tying it in a bow in the back.

"There," he whispered as he spun her around to face him. "You're beautiful, Sophie." Sophie saw how his eyes softened and she felt herself melt inside. Her eyes darted to the corner of the room where she had spotted a spider. She could feel a blush rising to her cheeks.

"W-well are we going to Wales or not?" she asked, trying to break the sudden mood. "We'd best be going before we waste the day away."

They went downstairs and were greeted by the sound of Calcifer's snores. Sophie reached for her boots on the shoe rack, but was stopped by Howl.

"Please don't wear those silly things, Sophie. Especially after all the work I out into making your dress."

"Well I can't very well go walking around barefoot, now can I?" Sophie protested. Howl plopped a pair of emerald green flats onto the floor in front of Sophie's feet.

"They used to be Megan's, but I took them for safe keeping once she outgrew them. While you were changing I tweaked their size so that they'll fit you."

"Fine," Sophie said reluctantly. She would've preferred to wear her boots, but she slipped her feet into the flats anyway.

"Now, we can go to Wales," Howl said, wrapping Sophie's arm around his. _There's that little blush again, _he noted mentally with a slight smile. He turned the doorknob to its least-used color and opened the door to Wales.

**A/N: Huzzah! Part 3! I hope you're enjoying the story so far! It's been a while since I read the book, so I don't remember exactly which color leads to Wales. I know in the movie it was black (but in the movie you don't know that it's Wales) and I'm pretty sure that it was a different color in the book, but alas, I forget.**

**I'm sorry that it takes me a while to update. And I also want to apologize to those of you who are waiting for me to update for my fic from Vampire Knight. I just REALLY want to get all these stupid plot bunnies (Albuslover8101) out of my head so that I can just focus on From Childhood for a while afterwards. **

**Ok, well peace out peeps! **


	4. Chapter 4

Sophie found her imagination running wild as she tried to picture Wales. Would it be covered in green paint? Or green goo perhaps? There was obviously something significant about the color green (after all, it was the only color Howl had dressed her in!) and she didn't know what to expect. She sighed in relief when she saw the simple street with its quiet houses lined in a row; nothing out of the ordinary. The only thing green was the grass; it was still too early for the trees to bloom, but it was a rather warm day despite how chilly it had been earlier back in Ingary.

"Now, I don't have a particular interest in visiting my sister. Perhaps we'll drop by for a two-second visit later in the afternoon because I would love to see Mari. That leaves us plenty of time to go sightseeing. Where to?" Howl looked down at the woman beside him. She looked a little shy, like a mouse again. He knew very well that she had no clue where anything was.

"Alright, we'll go for a stroll then," he said, answering his own question. His strong arm was securely wrapped around hers, and he never wanted to let go. He started walking down the sidewalk, away from the house that acted as their ride back to Ingary, and Sophie naturally followed.

"Why is today so special?" Howl heard Sophie say meekly.

"Oh, Sophie, look over there!" Howl said excitedly, pointing to a little shop up ahead of them.

"We should go inside and have a peek around. After all, it's a book shop. You enjoy reading don't you?" Howl had walked a few feet ahead of her, successfully avoiding her question. He was such a slither-outer. The truth was that he wanted today to be a surprise for Sophie and to let her be able to enjoy his old home with him. He still loved Wales, but he knew that he would never be accepted into society if he announced that he was a wizard in another world. No, that would only lead to constricting white walls and heavy doses of medication.

"Come here, Sophie," he said soothingly, extending his hand towards her.

"Kay," she answered and took his hand with her own.

Nothing of great proportions was accomplished in the book shop. It was quaint, and a little dusty. Every inch of the walls contained books; books of new release or some of the oldest writing from the Renaissance. Sophie liked it in the shop. She almost forgot that she was no longer in Ingary. Howl thumbed through a few big books. The shop keeper was a friendly old man, and you could tell by the gleam of his eyes behind his spectacles that he really loved his job. He and Howl exchanged a few words in fluent Welsh, and Sophie couldn't help but be shocked at had fluid they poured out of Howl's mouth and how beautiful he made them sound.

"Howl, should you buy something for Megan?" Sophie inquired, walking up to the wizard as he looked through an old book of mythology.

"Hmm? Oh, Megan? No, I shouldn't. The thought did cross my mind. I thought that if I came with a present it could serve as a peace offering, but she would simply bash it and bombard me with questions on how I came across the money to buy it." Sophie nodded in reply. She understood Howl's reasoning.

"Come on; we don't have all day to spend in a little book store," Howl whispered in her ear. Sophie raised her eyebrow. Where else were they planning on going besides Megan's?

They each thanked the shop keeper and left, walking beside each other but not touching. Sophie was staring at the ground and thinking of how embarrassing it was that she could see the majority of her legs in public.

"Okay, Howl. Please tell me what today is about. Even that old shop man was wearing a green sweater. I think an explanation is in order. At least fill me in on what's happening before we go to Megan's."

"In due time dear, in due time," Howl said without really paying much attention to Sophie. His eyes were wondering the small town, looking here and there; anywhere but Sophie.

"Howell Jenkins? Is that really you?" a burly voice said from across the street. Howl and Sophie turned to see a rather rotund man about the same age as Howl.

"Jerry Hawthorne? How've you been?" Howl replied. They completely ignored Sophie as they became all buddy-buddy and got the 411 on each other's lives.

"You married Sue? Well I suppose congratulations are in order! Any little kids running around yet?" Howl asked the man named Jerry.

"No, not yet, but there will be in about five months!" the man said eagerly.

"Oh, man. I can't believe you knocked up Sue Flint! Where have I been all these years?" Sophie's cheeks turned crimson and her eyes bugged a little bit at the bluntness of Howl's phrase, but Jerry simply laughed in reply to the sexual reference.

"You better believe it! And that's what we've all been wondering too; where on earth HAVE you been all these years, Howell?"

"Oh, my life is nothing special, really. Just been doing some traveling and a few odd jobs here and there," Howl replied nonchalantly.

"Oh, Howell, who's your lady friend?"

"This is Miss Sophie Hatter. We met a little over a year ago. I'm sorry, Sophie. I completely forgot my manners. Silly me. This is an old friend of mine, Jerry Hawthorne," Howl explained as he wrapped his arm back around Sophie's waist. Jerry bowed his head in Sophie's direction and tipped his hat. His GREEN hat. All the green was really starting to bother Sophie.

"Well, Howell, how's 'bout you drop by the ole bar this evening. All the boys and I will be there and you can bring Miss Sophie with you too. Ya know, reminisce about the good old days over a mug of beer or two. What do you say?"

"Sounds like an opportunity that I can't resist. I'll be there, Jerry," replied Howl.

"See you tonight then!" Jerry called as he walked down the road.

"A bar? Beer? Howl, you cannot go tonight," stated Sophie once they were alone.

"Why not?" retorted Howl.

"Because you're beyond obnoxious and dumb when you're drunk!"

"Oh, silly Sophie. Everyone's going out for a few drinks tonight. Ask anyone. After all, today is St. Patrick's Day." Howl looked down at the woman beside him and smiled coyly as her face painted a mix of confusion and annoyance.

**A/N: I did this in a rush (as usual) because I have to run out of the house right now, but I wanted to update for you guys. I'm sorry that it always takes me so long to update; I'm just a horrible person. **

**Disclaimer: I do not in any way own Howl's Moving Castle. If I did, I would not be writing fanfiction.**


	5. Chapter 5

Part 5

It was noon time when Howl rang the doorbell of his sister's house (Sophie thought it looked more like a button than a bell). Howl's little nephew, Neil, answered the door.

"What are _you _doing here?" It was clear by the way Neil addressed Howl that he was not very fond of his uncle.

"Hello, Neil. Would your mum be home by any chance?" Howl said, looking down at the little boy and trying to sound as sweet as possible.

"Nope. Went out with Mari a while ago. Dad's here though if you want to talk to him." Howl had no particular interest in seeing his brother-in-law, all he really wanted to do was get Sophie better acquainted with Mari.

"Oh, I see. Is Mari at a friend's house then?"

"I don't see why I should tell you," Neil retorted, making a pouty face at his uncle.

"Very well then, Neil. Please send your father my regards," Howl said as he ruffled the boy's hair and walked down the steps of the front porch. Sophie followed behind him. Neil stood at the door a little longer and watched the two of them leave. Neil promptly stuck out his tongue before closing the door.

"Howl, where are we going now?" Sophie inquired as she struggled to keep up with Howl's long strides. In all honesty Howl had almost forgotten that Sophie was there, she had been so quiet. He slowed his pace to match hers. As expected, Howl didn't answer her question, but Sophie followed him nonetheless. After all, she had no clue where she was going.

They walked down the street, turned the corner onto another, and turned again onto a little lane. Howl stopped in front of the second house on the right and Sophie had to back-track a few steps. They were looking at a decent sized house with gray paint and red on the door and shutters.

"Here we are!" exclaimed Howl with a not-so-subtle hint of joy in his voice.

"Howl, where exactly is _here?_" Sophie said, peering around the wizard's shoulder.

"This, dear Sophie, is the house of Mari's friend," Howl announced with pride. Sophie was not impressed, so Howl tried to elaborate.

"I followed Megan's essence to this house. Mari's essence was just beside hers. And inside I can sense the presence of both of them, so this must be where they are. Rather impressive, huh?" Howl looked down at the woman beside him, expecting her to look at him with admiration. Instead she had raised her eyebrow and formed her lips into a thin line to show her disapproval.

"So now we're snooping around the country-side of Wales trying to find your sister and niece even though you don't wish to have any connections with your sister and we've ended up in front of some stranger's house going by the assumption that they might be inside?" But she was too late. Howl was already walking up the steps to the stranger's front door. _That man…when we get back to Ingary I'll be sure to cut up his new red and black suit!_ Sophie thought as she marched up behind Howl. He rang the doorbell. They waited. One one-thousand. Two one-thousand. Three one-thou,

"May I help you?" A young woman about two or three years older than Howl opened the door, and was now looking back and forth between Howl and Sophie with much confusion.

"I'm so sorry for interrupting your afternoon ma'am, but would two ladies by the names Megan and Mari be inside?" He was so polite and charming in front of the lady. And why should he not be? She was beautiful after all. She had sky blue eyes, long, perfectly curled, blonde hair, and a stunning figure to top it all off. To put it simply, Sophie felt very inferior.

"Oh, yes! Mari came over to play with my daughter, Seren. Megan's here too. Are you Mari's father?" The first few thoughts that crossed Howl's mind were things that would not have pleased Sophie. But unfortunately for said lady, Howl was only thinking of the woman in front of him, the mother of Mari's friend. _And to think, she's given birth and still has such an exquisite body!_

"Father? Oh heavens, no. I am Megan's younger brother, Howell. It is a pleasure to meet you ma'am," Howl said with his most charming smile as he lightly kissed the lady's hand.

"Oh, my. I'm Gwenivere," the lady said as she fluttered her eyelashes like they were a hummingbird's wings. Sophie was not pleased. Not in the least. First of all, no one had even bothered to notice her. Second of all, she was rather disappointed that Howl was standing right beside her, flirting with another woman. _Well, Sophie, what did you expect? He's a man after all, and you're not much to look at. And besides, you aren't married to him, heavens, he's not even courting you. He has no obligations to you. _

"Howell that better not be you at the door!" came another voice from the corridor, interrupting everyone's thoughts.

"Ah, my dear sister, happy St. Patrick's Day!" Howl exclaimed trying to get on his sister's good side as she walked in the room. Megan was having none of that. _Well I suppose I'll let Megan yell at Howl for me, _Sophie concluded. Megan never failed to bash her little brother.

"We don't hear from you for almost a whole year and you suddenly show up at our doorstep?! Hell Howell, this isn't even my doorstep! This is Gwenivere's! What in your right mind possessed you to come barging in like some big gentlemanly knight about to whisk us all away,"

Megan was cut short by a much softer, younger, and gentler voice.

"Uncle Howell?" Mari's little head popped out from behind the stairwell. Her eyes opened wide when she saw the man at the bottom of the stairs smile up at her. She ran down the stairs with all her might, tumbling over the last few steps and landing in the warm embrace of her uncle.

"Uncle Howell I missed you. Why were you gone so long?" the little girl said, looking up into her beloved uncle's eyes.

_It's really sweet how much Mari loves her uncle. I just hope that she doesn't end up falling in love with someone like him. She'll get her heart broken. That's probably why Megan doesn't like to see them spending so much time together, _Sophie pondered as she watched the scene in front of her unfold.

"Mari, go back upstairs and play dolls with Seren! That's the whole reason I brought you over here!" Megan ordered. Mari looked a bit sad, but she cheered up and bounced back upstairs after Howl whispered something in her ear.

"Well I think it's sweet how much little Mari loves her uncle," Gwenivere said, walking over to Howl and putting her hands on his arm, arching her upper body towards his core.

"Gwenivere, you're married, remember?" Megan said in a low, icy tone, casting an evil look at the two of them.

"Oh, Megan, don't be such a party pooper. Besides, my husband's at work. And nothing's written in stone," she said as she further pressed her body against Howl's.

"Who's gonna know if we have a little fun, hmmm?" Gwenivere said as she licked her lips and looked back at Howl, her eyelashes fluttering like mad again.

"Well I'll know! And so will she!" Megan retorted, pointing a finger at Sophie, who everybody had forgotten. Throughout the whole scene Sophie had folded her hands meekly in front of her body and turned her eyes downward. She didn't want to see this. She didn't want to see Howl falling for more women; especially women who were so much prettier than she. Sophie's eyes had shot up when Megan suddenly dragged her into the conversation.

_I…I forgot Sophie was here. And here I am, letting this woman cling to me like a prostitute. What does Sophie think of me now? _Howl's mind kept on worrying and worrying to no extent. He had brought Sophie to Wales today so that she could enjoy his old home with him, not so that he could throw her away and go off with someone else. _What is she going to do? Is she going to walk away from me? God, anything but that! She doesn't even know how to get back to the Ingary from here! _

"Who are you?" Gwenivere said rather rudely.

"Oh, I'm sorry. My name is Sophie Hatter. I'm Howell's cleaning lady," Sophie replied as politely as ever. She even smiled, but Howl could tell that she was faking it.

"Well don't just stand there Gwenivere, make some tea or something!" Megan blurted out. Fearing Megan's wrath, Gwenivere dashed over towards the kitchen and stayed there as long as possible. The other three walked into the living room and sat down on the couches. Howl and Megan sat across from one another, and Sophie sat facing both of them. They bickered, quarreled, and argued over a number of subject all within the short about of time before the whistle for the tea blew.

They sat drinking their tea, and things began to turn quite chaotic. The siblings continued to quarrel, Gwenivere continued to act like a slut, and soon Seren and Mari joined them in the living room.

It finally got to a point which Sophie could no longer take. Seren and Mari had spilled ice cream (though Sophie didn't quite know what it was) all over the carpet and were now playing tag inside the small room. Megan got on the subject of money, and she was getting very loud. Gewnivere was straddling Howl's lap still trying to seduce him. Howl kept pushing Gwenivere's face away from his as he tried to defend himself from his sister's accusations. And all Sophie did was sit there, sipping her tea. Well, she had had enough. She forcefully placed her cup back in its saucer on the table and stood up.

"Enough! I've just about had it here! This room is crazier than Market Chipping on May Day!" She had gotten everyone's attention, and she pushed back her usual shyness as she continued. Thankfully no one asked what Market Chipping was.

"You two, you're old enough now to know not to run inside a house. And clean up that horrible mess you made! Neither I nor anyone else here is cleaning it for you!" she said as she pointed at the two little girls.

"And you, Miss Gwenivere. When Howell and I first arrived, you were very polite. But now, God, I don't even know what you're doing! But you should know better than to be acting in such a way in public and in front of your own daughter nonetheless!" Gwenivere looked shocked, but she slid off of Howl's lap and scooted away from him, keeping her eyes downcast.

"And Megan, for once could you and Howell not bicker? I know that you two have major differences, and I know that you feel partially responsible for him since you're older. Trust me, I'm the eldest of three girls, I know how it feels. Yes, Howell may not seem like the most respectable man to you, but he's not scum! If you must argue, could you do it in private? And for heaven's sake, must you argue today? It's a holiday today, is it not?" Sophie said as she concluded her little rant. She could feel her courage and will start to shrivel again, but she knew that she had to get Howl out of the house first.

Howl had a smug look on his face as he watched Sophie take control of the situation. _And she also realized that it's a holiday; she caught on better than I thought._

Sophie walked over to him, took him by the ear and dragged him towards the door, forcing him to stand up or else risk losing an ear. Sophie was about to say open the door when she felt a gentle tug on the hem of her dress.

"Miss Sophie, may I say good-bye to Uncle Howell first?" said little Mari, looking very sad. Sophie smiled and nodded in reply, letting go of Howl's ear so that he could squat down to Mari's height. Mari gave him a little peck on the cheek and whispered good-bye. Howl got up and stood next to Sophie and they were about to leave when they heard Mari's voice again.

"Wait, now I need to say good-bye to you, Miss Sophie." This time it was Sophie's turn to squat down to Mari's height. Mari gave Sophie a little peck on the cheek as well, much to Sophie surprise and Howl's delight.

"You know Miss Sophie, you're very pretty," whispered the little girl in Sophie's ear.

"No, no. You're much prettier than I am, little Mari," Sophie whispered back shaking her head ever so slightly. But then Mari shook her head very forcefully to try to get her point across from Sophie.

"Please take care of my uncle for me. He can be rather silly at times." Sophie looked up at Howl to see him smiling down at her with a particular softness in his eyes.

"Of course I'll take care of him, Mari. Don't you worry," Sophie confirmed taking the little girl's hands in hers.

"Will I get to see you and Uncle Howell again, Miss Sophie?"

"Oh, I'm sure we'll bump into each other again, little Mari," said Sophie reassuringly. She stood up and took hold of Howl's ear once more. She opened the front door and snuck one more look at the shocked faces in the living room and Mari's smiling one before leaving the house.

They stepped onto the sidewalk and headed back for downtown (well, Howl headed back that way, Sophie simply followed him). They turned onto the main road and continued walking side by side.

"Well there's one thing that I'm absolutely certain of Mr. Jenkins; you really hit the nail on the head when you said that living with you would be hair-raising."

**A/N: Hello! Phew, this is the longest chapter I've ever written! But don't worry, I had lots of fun writing it, and I certainly hope you enjoyed reading it. I'm not sure if I really kept Howl in character in this chapter though; I feel like he acted too much like Spirit (aka Death Scythe) from Soul Eater. Oh well. Someone suggested that I make Sophie embarrass Howl, so I have plenty of that on the menu (hint hint) for the next chapter! Teehee!**

**And to think that this was originally going to be a one-shot!! :O**

**Till next time! :) **


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